Huntingdonshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the

minor counties The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

in the English domestic

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

structure, representing the historic county of

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...

. The club does not currently compete in either the

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...

MCCA Knockout Trophy The National Counties Cricket Association Knockout Cup was started in 1983 as a knockout one-day competition for the National Counties in English cricket. At first it was known as the ''English Industrial Estates Cup'', before being called the ...

, but does play informal matches, typically against

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

teams and county academies.

Earliest cricket

Cricket probably reached Huntingdonshire in the 17th century. The earliest reference to the game in the general region is in neighbouring

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1710. In 1741,

John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, PC, FRS (13 November 1718 – 30 April 1792) was a British statesman who succeeded his grandfather Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich as the Earl of Sandwich in 1729, at the age of ten. During his life ...

became patron and captain of a

county team which, as part of a united Northamptonshire & Huntingdonshire team, twice defeated

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

in important matches.Maun, p. 67.

Origin of the club

Huntingdonshire County Cricket Club was first formed in 1831 and existed until 1895. Initially, until the early 1850s, matches were played against club sides but from the start of the 1850s the club found regular County opponents. Up until 1874 Huntingdonshire played home matches at Millers Holme,

Godmanchester Godmanchester ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. It is separated from Huntingdon, to the north, by the valley of the River Great Ouse. Being on the Roman road network, the town has a lo ...

. From 1874 the club played at the Huntingdon Cricket Club Ground and continues to do so to this day. In 1895 the club was disbanded. In the 1920s the club was briefly reformed before folding once again. The current county club was formed in 1948. From 1999 to 2003, the county entered teams into the English domestic one-day competition, matches which had List A status. The county played seven List A matches during this period, with the final List A match it played coming against

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

. During this period, the club used The Parks, Godmanchester as its home ground.

Players

:''See List of Huntingdonshire County Cricket Club List A players and :Huntingdonshire cricketers''

Grounds

''Below is a complete list of grounds used by Huntingdonshire County Cricket Club when it was permitted to play List A and MCCA Knockout Trophy matches. These grounds have also held List A and MCCA Knockout Trophy matches.''

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

Huntingdonshire Cricket
National Counties cricket Cricket clubs established in 1831 Cricket clubs established in 1948 Cricket in Huntingdonshire Cricket in Cambridgeshire 1831 establishments in England 1948 establishments in England {{England-cricket-team-stub